The following is borrowed from another page:
"The term neuro-immune disease (NID) refers to a group of illnesses that are the result of
acquired dysregulation of both the immune system
and
the nervous system,
often resulting in lifelong disease and disability.
Symptoms may include:
mild to severe cognitive impairment;
disordered sleep; severe headache;
swollen lymph nodes; sore throat; malaise;
postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS);
painful nerves, joints and or muscles;
abdominal pain; nausea;
and unusual fatigue.
These diseases most often follow an infectious or flu-like illness that does not fully resolve after standard treatment or over a typical course of time.
Challenges to the immune system, such as new or reactivated infections, major life stresses or exposure to toxins,
can trigger
a severe relapse or worsening of existing symptoms.
Recent published evidence associates human gamma retroviral infections with those who suffer from ME and CFS.
Neuro-immune diseases such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, are acquired disorders that impact the body and the brain. They are on the rise and can last a lifetime.
These diseases impact tens of millions of people around the world, yet those who suffer have no FDA-approved treatments for underlying causes of the diseases or methods to prevent others from becoming ill.
Neuro-immune diseases such as those listed below deserve significantly higher research priority to identify and develop biomarkers of disease and more effective treatments for those who suffer.
•1 in 300 suffers from ME and CFS
•1 in 150 suffers from fibromyalgia
•1 in 110 children has autism spectrum disorder
•Lyme disease is a fast growing epidemic in the U.S. (Many sufferers go on to develop a chronic illness identical to ME and CFS.)
•225,000 service men of the 600,000 from the 1991 gulf war have a multisymptom illness similar to ME and CFS called Gulf War illness (GWI)."
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***Rhode Island "mandates treatment for Chronic Lyme!"
http://www.health.state.ri.us/diseases/lyme/about/seekingmedicalcare/
We need to have this done for every state in the union and every country around the world!
"Resources for Lyme Patients
If you have Lyme, or think you might have Lyme, it is important that you learn about the disease and have a physician who is educated about Lyme.
Many people with Lyme disease have been misdiagnosed
or not diagnosed at all because they did not understand their symptoms and saw physicians who are unfamiliar with the disease.
Rhode Island law protects Lyme disease patients by ensuring that they can receive proper treatment and that their insurance companies cover that treatment.
Treatment
Doctors usually treat Lyme disease with an antibiotic called doxycycline, taken in pill form for about a month.
In more severe cases, however, you might have to take the pills for several months, or receive injections of antibiotics instead.
Several antibiotics may be used in the treatment of Lyme disease.
Doxycycline, cefuroxime axetil, amoxicillin, erythromycin , or another antibiotic is usually taken orally for a period of a few weeks,
but is sometimes given intravenously, especially in more severe cases.
It is recommended that children under nine and pregnant or breast feeding women receive cefuroxime axetil, amoxicillin, or penicillin for Lyme disease treatment.
Often, treatment will be dependent on the development of symptoms, and will vary for patients who experience arthritic, cardiac, and neurological symptoms.
Patients who receive treatment during the early period of their infection usually experience a full and rapid recovery, and many patients respond well to antibiotic treatment in later stages of the disease.
However, some patients require lengthy antibiotic treatment.
In some cases, the disease will recur, causing persistent symptoms, after treatment and the patient will require additional treatment.
If a patient does not receive treatment until the very late stages of infection, they may endure permanent pain, arthritis, and neurological damage even after recovery."